The Korea Football Association has decided not to take legal action against Park Joo-ho.
“Officially, we said that we would take legal action if there is any violation of the regulations and if there is anything necessary, we will take legal action, but in fact, nothing has been done internally,” an official from the KFA said on the 17th.
“It’s true that the association has reviewed Park’s remarks, but it’s not part of the official response,” an official from the KFA said on the 18th, adding, ‘We decided it was unnecessary to respond to Park, including a legal response,’ Newsis reported.
On Aug. 8, the Korea Football Association officially announced the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as Jürgen Klinsmann’s successor. The appointment came after five months of speculation and a lack of process.
The controversy escalated further when commentator Park Joo-ho, who was part of the power strengthening committee, posted a whistleblowing video amid fan outrage. In response to the appointment of Hong Myung-bo, Park said, “It’s definitely not the correct procedure. I’m inside and I don’t know what this is. I don’t think I can explain it. I don’t think I can explain it.” He lamented, ”I don’t have the right words.
“Sometimes it’s just a simple vote rather than a comprehensive discussion. Some members demanded a domestic director before the meeting and were very critical of foreign directors. We emphasized that we were not against a domestic coach, but that the game plan and direction should be right, but there was not much constructive discussion,” he added.
The Korean Football Association quickly responded with a statement. According to soccer insiders, the KFA is considering legal action against Park for 안전놀이터 violating his confidentiality pledge. The KFA even released a statement on its official website on Sept. 9 expressing regret for Park’s comments.
Starting with Park Joo-ho, soccer figures have expressed their concerns one by one. Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Lee Ik-su, Lee Dong-guk, Kim Young-kwang, and even active soccer player Koo Ja-cheol have spoken out.
Eventually, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) stepped in. “We respected the autonomy of the Football Association and watched the media, but I think we’ve reached the limit,” an official from the ministry said on the 15th, according to Yonhap News, ”We will look into whether there were any flaws in the process of appointing the head coach.”
In addition, a report was reportedly filed with the Sports Ethics Center, an organization that investigates corruption in sports, regarding the appointment of Hong Myung-bo. The Ethics Center is an organization dedicated to protecting human rights in sports, but it is also mandated to receive and investigate reports of sports irregularities.
The KFA says it will investigate the matter in good faith. An official from the KFA told Interfootball on Sunday, “We haven’t received anything yet. If the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism wants to investigate, we will respond.”
Meanwhile, Park Joo-ho made his first public appearance since the whistleblowing, saying, “I received a lot of strength, support and cheers from the people around me (after uploading the YouTube video), so I will not forget about that and will continue to work hard to develop soccer.”
On the 18th, Park attended the ‘FC Seventeen Eleven with K-League × Sanrio Characters Pop-up Store’ held at the atrium on the first floor of Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul. “This is coming from a personal point of view, but I think it’s everyone’s wish that Korean soccer can grow and improve if it becomes more systematic,” Park said.
